Boeing could face criminal charges over its recent string of high-profile issues.
Federal prosecutors have recommended to top Justice Department officials that the airplane maker be charged for violating its 2021 agreement following two deadly crashes involving Max 737 planes, according to multiple reports.
The 2018 and 2019 crashes killed a total of 346 people.
In a federal court filing last month, the DOJ said Boeing failed to make changes to prevent it from violating federal anti-fraud laws. The changes were a condition of the deferred prosecution agreement that the airline manufacturer agreed to in 2021.
The DOJ said Boeing broke the agreement by "failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."
Prior to the agreement, the DOJ conducted a two-year probe into whether Boeing had concealed information about its 737 Max aircraft.
In 2021, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to resolve a criminal investigation into the company's conduct surrounding the fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
In Oct. 2018, Indonesia's Lion Air flight 610, which was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet, plunged into the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board. Similarly, 157 passengers died from the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crash in March 2019.
In the agreement, Boeing promised to compensate victims' relatives and overhaul its compliance practices.
More recently, Boeing planes have been involved in a string of incidents, such as an Alaska Airlines flight where the cabin door blew off in mid-air. The company has also been accused of faulty manufacturing by whistleblowers.
The DOJ has until July 7 to decide if it will pursue the newly recommended charges, according to reports.
Boeing has not commented on the development.
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